What kind of wedding gift do you give a couple of self-confessed foodies? Seriously, send me your ideas.
It would have been easy enough if I hadn’t waited ‘till the last minute to make a mad rush to Williams-Sonoma at Mayfair Mall where the getting-hitched gourmands were registered.
Turns out the only items not yet fulfilled on their list were a Le Creuset Dutch Oven for $350 (nice, but way out of my price range) and a few random spoons and spatulas.
Not wanted to be remembered as the good friend who sent a silicone spatula, I snagged a quick shot of espresso from Alterra Coffee at the mall, and decided to look elsewhere.
Fortified by the highly concentrated cup of caffeine, I zipped from one shop to another, hoping to find something – anything! – food related to send my soon-to-be wed friends back in Dallas.
Something they could brag about when hosting the monthly supper club into which they’d recently managed to gain entree. Something all the other couples would secretly wish they had on their kitchen shelves…
Okay, I know that last part sounds a little vain, but at the moment this supper clubbing is serious social business! Reputations can be made or broken on the quality of grilled sea bass served.
Personally, I think supper club is fun – sorta like disco for our decade, only instead of phone numbers and controlled substances, people swap recipes for Moroccan Lamb Tangine and Pan Seared Tilapia with Chili-Lime Butter.
But I digress.
After scouring several shops and finding nothing other than a new citrus press for myself (if you use lots of fresh lemon or lime juice, you must get one of these ASAP!), I almost passed a shop offering exactly what I needed.
From the outside The Spice House, located in the historic Adam Bauer building at 1031 North Old World Third Street, looked totally nondescript, but inside I discovered Milwaukee’s very own version of a Marrakech spice souk.